A 1924 German novel on destiny. The hero is a one-legged veteran of World War I, earning his living by playing a barrel organ. A run-in with a wealthy man sends him to prison, he loses his musician's license and his wife leaves him.

The year is 1928. On the outskirts of a large German city, three young men are earning a thin and precarious living. Fully armed young storm troopers swagger in the streets. Restlessness, poverty, and violence are everywhere. For these three, friendship is the only refuge from the chaos around them. Then the youngest of them falls in love, and brings into the group a young woman who will become a comrade as well, as they are all tested in ways they...